Wednesday, January 22
Annapolis, Md.
7:00 PM
Lehigh University
9-11 (2-5)
68
at
66
Navy
7-11 (2-5)
1
2
OT 1
F
Lehigh
23
35
10
68
Navy
27
31
8
66
McKnight’s last-second layup gives Lehigh 68-66 OT win at Navy
1/22/2014 10:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Down by as many as eight in the second half, the Lehigh men's basketball team responded to set up late-game heroics by senior Mackey McKnight, who evened the score late in regulation then converted a layup with just 1.1 seconds left in OT as the Mountain Hawks broke a five-game losing streak with a dramatic 68-66 win over Navy on Wednesday evening. Sophomore Jesse Chuku finished with a career-high five blocks, including one in the final seconds of regulation and another on Navy's final three-point attempt as the clock expired in overtime.
"It feels tremendous," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "That's what we really needed; we needed to put together a win in those circumstances. To be able to come through was critical. We knocked down crucial free throws. I'm also really appreciative of Jesse Chuku making key blocks in critical situations as well."
Sophomore Justin Goldsborough had a sensational first half, scoring 11 of Lehigh's 23 points while adding a team-high four first-half boards. Junior Stefan Cvrkalj was the story in the second, scoring all 14 of his points over the final 20 minutes, knocking down all five of his second-half shots (including four from three-point range). Cvrkalj added a career-high seven rebounds as well.
"We dealt with some tough foul difficulty," said Reed. "Justin Goldsborough was big in the first half. If it wasn't for him, the foul trouble would have played a bigger role in this game."
A pair of Chuku free throws gave Lehigh a one-point, 64-63 lead with 34 seconds left in overtime. After a Navy turnover, freshman Tim Kempton knocked down a pair from the charity stripe. However, Navy's Zach Fong made a three to even the score at 66, leading into McKnight's heroics. With the shot clock off, McKnight made a drive to his right and finished the tough shot.
"It was really for Mackey to be able to make that type of finish because there was a great deal of contact on that play," said Reed. "He's a crafty guy with a never quit attitude. Once he got within five or six feete, his eyes were set on the rim with an opportunity to finish."
After a timeout, the Midshipmen heaved the ball down court and Fong had a decent look at a corner three, but Chuku was there for his fifth block of the evening as the ball fell short.
In total, four Mountain Hawks finished with double-figure points. Kempton led the way with 15 on 6-of-10 shooting along with six rebounds. Goldsborough finished with 13 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting and 3-of-3 from the free throw line. McKnight had 11 points, six assists and five rebounds, becoming the second player in school history (along with Marquis Hall) to eclipse 500 career assists. McKnight was an efficient 4-of-6 from the field.
Seven of Lehigh's last eight games have gone down to the final minute, or overtime. Wednesday snapped a five-game losing streak, giving the Mountain Hawks their first win since a double overtime thriller at Colgate to open Patriot League play. Lehigh has now beaten Navy eight straight times.
Navy opened up an early 5-2 lead following a Worth Smith jump shot with 15:32 left in the first half. Down 7-4, McKnight went on a 5-0 run by himself, using a three-pointer and layup to give Lehigh its first lead (9-7) with 12:58 on the clock.
The run extended to 10-0 as a Goldsborough dunk made it 14-7 in favor of the Mountain Hawks with 9:06 left in the opening half.
Another Goldsborough basket, this time a jumper, gave Lehigh a 19-10 advantage with 5:59 to go in the first. However, the Midshipmen answered with a 13-0 run which was capped off by a Grant Vermeer three to make it 23-19 with 3:03 left in the opening stanza. The teams traded points the rest of the way as Navy went into halftime with a 27-23 lead.
Navy opened a 34-27 advantage after a Brandon Venturini three early in the second half. The lead reached eight (37-29) after a Vermeer trey, but Lehigh immediately responded with a 5-0 run as a Cvrkalj trey made it 37-34 with 13:19 on the clock.
The lead again reached eight (42-34) but six straight points, behind a Chuku three-point play and Cvrkalj three, pulled Lehigh within 42-40 midway through the second half.
Another Cvrkalj trey pulled the Mountain Hawks even for the first time in the second half, making it 47-47 with 7:29 on the clock. Cvrkalj's fourth three gave Lehigh its first lead of the second (52-51) with just over five minutes left in regulation.
The ensuing minutes saw two ties and two lead changes. Down 58-56 heading into the final minute, McKnight tied the score with 19 seconds remaining then Chuku blocked a Venturini layup to preserve the tie and force overtime.
The first three minutes of overtime saw only two points, a Kempton layup, until Venturini tied the score with 1:57 left in the overtime. A Smith three gave Navy a 63-62 lead with 1:22 remaining, but that set up some clutch free throws by Chuku and Kempton, along with McKnight's layup, as Lehigh improved to 2-5 in league play and 9-11 overall.
Lehigh finished at 50 percent from the field (23-of-56) and 39 percent from three-point range (5-of-13). Navy shot 32 percent (22-of-68) and 39 percent from long distance (10-of-26). The Mountain Hawks held a 37-36 edge on the glass despite 17 offensive rebounds for the Midshipmen.
Lehigh now returns home for two straight games, hosting archrival Lafayette on Saturday at 7 p.m. before welcoming Bucknell next Wednesday (Jan. 29).
Tickets are available online, including a print-at-home option, or by calling the ticket office at 610-7LU-GAME (610-758-4263). Individual game tickets are only five dollars (in advance) and season tickets are also available.
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Team Stats
LEHIGH
NAVY
FG%
.500
.324
3FG%
.385
.385
FT%
.773
.800
RB
37
36
TO
16
7
STL
1
13
Game Leaders
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
2
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